When you’re up against a table full of calling stations, standard strategies can backfire fast. These five adjustments will help you extract value and avoid the traps passive players set unintentionally.
Isolation Raise To Larger Amounts
This is the largest hack you can use versus calling stations.
If you think about it, they’re actually using a very good strategy versus you. If they took you on one at a time, you’d beat them heads-up. You’re the type of person who reads poker articles and studies. They likely are playing casually. They don’t want to meet you head-on.
However, if they all decide to call you at the same time, they suddenly get an advantage. The pot is huge now and it’s likely one of them is going to outdraw you. They can wait for their turn to hit something big and then try to get a ton out of money out of your premium that doesn’t want to fold.
How do you beat this strategy? Get meaner. Play your good hands, hard. Raise to two times the size of the pot. Raise more than that. If they all fold to you, so what? Eventually, they’ll get irritated about how they never get to see their precious flops anymore.
If they still keep folding, taunt them. Isolation raise with 7-4s one time to a huge amount. After they all fold, show them the hand and say, “let’s get the money in boys.” Then, go back to playing a tight range.
If you have less than 50 big blinds, you can raise to slightly less than two times the size of the pot if there’s no short-stacks behind you, but you should still stay on the gas.
If an isolation raise would be more than 35% of your chips, strongly consider an all-in.
Squeeze To Larger Amounts
In the same vein, you can’t let these flop-loving donkeys call every one of your three-bets easily. If you have 100 big blinds to start the tournament, consider squeezing to two times the size of the pot, especially if you’re out of position. If they’re going to play trash and try to take down your solid ranges, they can pay for the privilege. Let’s see how brave they are when they can’t screw around with their precious drawing hands.
If they start commenting on how stupid your raise sizes are, then you’ll know you’re succeeding. If you were making a huge mistake, they wouldn’t say anything. You’re making them uncomfortable. They don’t know what to do.
Calling stations are not winning players. Do you really want their advice?
If you have around 50 big blinds, you don’t have go to two times the size of the pot, but you still want to make it larger, say around 1.5X the pot. You don’t want your raise sizes to be too small versus these recreational players who want to gang up on you.
Play Two Pair Or Better Poker Against Calling Stations
If you do raise from early position, you’re likely going to get multiple callers. That means hands like A-Qo are trash now, because those hands only make weak top pairs that go down in flames in multi-way pots.
The hands that will go up in value are suited connectors, suited Aces, pocket pairs, and suited Broadways. Those hands draw to the nuts, which is important. In multi-way pots the average winning hand when the pot gets larger is two pair, or better.
Don’t get married to a single pair. That’s what they’re hoping you will do. They want to bust you once you get infatuated with a top pair or over-pair.
Bet Huge In Multi-Way Pots When You Have It
If you do raise in early position and get called by half the table, don’t blink when you hit the flop. If you flop middle set when there a flush draw hits the board bet 75% of the pot. These calling stations can’t fold a top pair or flush draw, regardless of how much you put out there. Why would you balance versus people who are on their phone half the time and aren’t paying attention?
They’ll come up with some justification for why they have to call you. Then, they’ll be stuck in a large pot on the turn and river. You’ll get much bigger value bets at this point.
Don’t Call When They Raise You On Turn Or River
Listen, I’ve done more private poker lessons than anyone else on Earth. Let me tell you how all these calling stations play.
They try to make the nuts.
They wait until the turn or river.
Then they raise.
That’s their entire strategy. Call every raise or three-bet. See every flop. Make the nuts or near the nuts. Raise on the turn or river to get someone to pay off big. These players are called nut peddlers. They don’t deserve your money.
It is rare to run into a player who even knows what they can bluff with on the turn or river. Don’t give them credit for bluffs they don’t have.
The only time you should be suspicious is when they cap their range. If they check back on the turn when there are draws out there, that’s suspicious. They’d likely play fast with a set, two pair, or top pair when potential draws could beat them. If they suddenly raise on the river after doing that, see if there are any missed draws they might be playing. If there are several then consider a call.
Conclusion:
Playing the right way against calling stations means ditching the bluffs and betting for pure value. Make these adjustments, and you’ll turn their loose calls into steady profit.
Want to read more from APT Head Pro Alex Fitzgerald? Try his article about the 5 Situations Where You Should Bluff More.
